EXTORTION: Truckers Say ‘No Going Back’ on Planned Shutdown of Nigerian Ports Tomorrow

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Despite the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’s, appeal to a coalition of truck owners and maritime workers to suspend their planned strike over extortion allegations against the Lagos State Government, the truckers have insisted that there is no going back on the planned strike action.

The three trucking union and associations; Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), and the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) would embark on a total strike action, starting by 12am Thursday, following he expiration of a 3-days ultimatum handed to the Lagos State Government on Monday.

Speaking with DAILY TREND exclusively on Wednesday, President of AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi corrected that the meeting with Nigerian Shippers Council was just an appeal for the truckers to suspend the strike.

He however insisted that the strike action is not against the Council, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) or any port stakeholders, but against the Lagos State Government, whose traffic committees are extorting truck drivers to the tune of N400,000 on trumped up allegations.

Ogungbemi said “No going back on our demands it is now or never. It is not against NPA shippers Council or any other stakeholders but against the ignoble activities of the traffic committees of Lagos State.

“They are milking us into their private pockets and we cannot continue like that, they are using government machinery to extort our members and dragging our trucks to their garages and demanding N400,000 bail

“It is true that Shippers Council met us yesterday (Tuesday) and pleaded for us to stop the strike. After leaving the meeting, they subsequently left to meet with permanent secretary of the Lagos State, afterwards they called me that our members should stop strike but there was no effort to cushion the hardship from the lagos government, there was no commitment or soft landing to show they are ready to hear our demands

“The Lagos government simply ignored shippers council.

“We appreciate the council but we cannot suspend the strike. The earlier they call the committee responsible to order the better. They should allow us to remove our trucks.

“There is no going back unless the governor comes out to agree with our demands” Ogungbemi stated.

Speaking on behalf of the Union bodies at the meeting with Shippers Council on Tuesday, Mohammed Sani Bala, highlighted the key demands of the Truck Owners as follows: the disbandment of the Lagos State Committee on Removal of Abandoned Vehicles and the Special Traffic Management Committee and Enforcement Team in Apapa, unconditional release of all trucks impounded by the aforementioned committees or any related state agencies, and the permission to remove their trucks in the event of breakdowns, in line with an understanding already reached with the National Towing Vehicles Operators Association (NTVOA).